¿ªÔÆÌåÓýIt looks like people use a wide variety of methods to manage particulate matter suspended in the air in their shops. ?The particulates that are the most hazardous are nearly invisible to the naked eye. ?They are light and stay suspended in the air for extended periods of time. ?Exposure hazard is determined by the amount of particulates in the air coupled with the duration of exposure. ?Because the lungs cannot expel all of these particulates, exposure is cumulative. ?All of us will have varying tolerances to exposure to these particulates.I look at this issue kind of like the difference of a wood shop teacher vs the student. ?In a school wood shop without good air quality management, the student might be exposed to an excessive amount of of fine dust for 45 minutes per day for a semester, and maybe multiple semesters during school. ?The shop teacher, on the other hand hand is exposed to the same levels all day long, every day. ?The cumulative exposure is very different. We are no different. ?Some of us have occasional shop exposure, while others spend much more time in out shops. ?Minimal exposure can be managed with good quality dust masks for very little expense while enduring a bit of discomfort. ?I spend at least part of almost every day in my shop, and don¡¯t want to wear a mask every time I work in the shop. ?So I have invested in the usual cyclone dust extraction equipment for the typical equipment. ?I have also installed a JET AFS-2000 air filtration system hanging from the ceiling, ?It is controlled automatically by the air quality sensor that is part of my Grit Automation system that operates my dust extractor and blast gates. I have also changed the way I deal with ¡°dust¡± and chips on the floor. ?I no longer sweep. ?I found that when I sweep, I stir up enough dust to trigger the air quality sensor that starts my air filtration system. ?Obviously, sweeping puts me at the source of the dust clout that I can¡¯t even see. ?So, now I use my shop vac with a HEPA filter to clean the shop floor. Other activities that trigger the air quality sensor are extended use of the bandsaws, router operations and similar tool operations that have poor dust collection. ?For these operations, I wear a quality dust mask until the air filter system turns off.? Arguably the best investment in air quality improvement was purchase and use of high quality sanding tools that incorporate the Festool shop vacuum. ?Use of the Festool sanders and 3M sander with the Festool vacuum, even for extended periods of time, right underneath the air quality sensor, never trigger the sensor. So, short answer is I do think the shop air filtration systems are a good investment, especially if one is going to spend a lot of time in the shop. ?But like so many things, it is a wasted investment if it is purchased and not used effectively. ?Coupling the air filtration system with an air quality sensor that manages the system will insure it is used when needed. Best of luck, Alex B.
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